Management Information Sheet
Updates and actions regarding EHCP professional referral and other forms
As part of continued collaborative working between High Needs SEND and Learning and Inclusion teams within the local authority, the High Needs SEND team are supportive of and committed to the use the Identification of Needs Descriptors in Educational Settings (INDES) for referrals being considered through the Education, Health and Care (EHC) statutory needs assessment process. We have therefore updated the professional referral form for EHC statutory needs assessment requests to include this information and we have also separated the family conversation form and new DP1 from the professional request - making the form more condensed and streamlined. The family conversation form now matches the section A of the current Norfolk EHC plan template.
What next
If you have already completed an INDES please indicate this on the revised professional referral form hosted on the Identification of need and inclusive provision page of the Schools website. The Learning and SEND team will then be able to utilise this.
If you have not yet used the tool kits, you will be asked to undertake the INDES exercise for the child you are making the statutory request for as it is best practice to complete and submit INDES for all children and young people (CYP) with SEND, as this provides a clear overview of the profile of need within your setting. It also helps us understand the needs of all children in Norfolk and what settings require to meet that need so we can tailor our support, tools and guidance accordingly. The INDES tool provides a commonality of language and shared understanding of the presentation of special educational needs in education settings and establish a context for making provision inclusive which will support the LA in decision making and ensuring work at SEN Support is embedded and robustly considered at our needs assessment multi-disciplinary panel.
Benefits of using the INDES:
- Early identification and a clear profile of need
- An aid to processes such as census data completion; replace the requirement to apply for Element 3 funding
- Used to support referrals too NCC and other agencies' support services as well as EHC Needs Assessment Requests and EHCP annual reviews
- As INDES are available to be used in all Norfolk education settings, the education journey of CYP with SEND will be mapped over time and transitions will be better informed and understood
It is recommended that settings first familiarise themselves with the content of the INDES. Settings can download the INDES in list format (as the webform) or in tabular format. These resources are available to download from the Norfolk Schools website, see above link and from the Inclusion and SEND Learning Network SharePoint site: Inclusion and SEND Learning Network - Home (sharepoint.com). Settings should always refer to the website/SharePoint site to ensure they are using the most up to date version.
Once a request has been completed, send the new referral form, corresponding and supporting documentation to aid the referral, the family conversation form and a signed copy of the DP1 via the usual portals - either submit the request online via Education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment requests - Norfolk County Council or email all documents to the Children Services EHCP Team Mailbox: csehcp@norfolk.gov.uk.
Further support and advice is available on the INDES by contacting the Learning and SEND team:
- SEND Support - inclusionandsend@norfolk.gov.uk
- INDES and IPSEF support - indesipsefsupport@norfolk.gov.uk
Further support and advice is available on the EHC statutory needs assessment request by telephoning the High Need SEND contact line on 01603 679183.
Links